Military sites to house asylum seekers to meet ‘essential living needs and nothing more’, says minister – as it happened

Here is the Home Office press release with details of the announcement made by Robert Jenrick in the Commons earlier about the plans to move asylum seekers out of hotel accommodation into new places, including former military sites in Lincolnshire and Essex, and a non-military site in East Sussex.

The introduction this month of the illegal migration bill, and then the budget, have done little to improve Rishi Sunak’s approval ratings, a poll by Ipsos suggests.

In its summary of the findings, Ipsos says:

The latest update to the Ipsos Political Pulse, taking March 17th-20th following the budget, shows little change in Rishi Sunak’s personal poll ratings and a majority of Britons still holding an unfavourable opinion towards the Conservative party.

Here are the figures for Sunak and Keir Starmer’s approval ratings.

And here are the figures for their parties.

This is from Keiran Pedley at Ipsos, summarising what the poll says.

The plan to house asylum seekers at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire has been called a “backward step” for the area, PA Media reports.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 migrants will be housed at RAF Scampton and more will be housed at other bases and private facilities across the country, the immigration minister, Robert Jenrick, told MPs.

The confirmation of the plans means that a £300m regeneration project at Scampton, formerly the home of the Red Arrows and the 617 Dambusters Squadron, has been put on hold, despite several calls for migrants to be housed elsewhere so the regeneration project can go ahead.

A spokesperson for Scampton Holdings Ltd (SHL), the company leading the redevelopment, said it was “absolutely devastated” by the government’s decision, with the company’s chair, Peter Hewitt, saying the decision was “incredibly difficult to understand”.

Hewitt said: “Earlier this week Sir Edward Leigh MP met with the prime minister and presented our case, including numerous letters of support from blue-chip businesses, academia, historians and the Local Enterprise Partnership. Despite assurances that these plans will only be temporary, it is nothing short of a backward step for the economic growth of the region.”

West Lindsey District Council had planned to buy the RAF base from the Ministry of Defence and transfer ownership to SHL through a development agreement.

The site would then be redeveloped to create “aviation heritage, business, aerospace, space and aviation technology and education opportunities”, according to the council, with an operational runway at the heart of the plans and thousands of jobs set to be created.

Simon Jones, a report for BBC South East, points out that the new sites announced by the government today would only be able to house about a tenth of the asylum seekers currently in hotel accommodation.

Betty Boothroyd’s funeral, which took place earlier today, reflected how the former Commons speaker was regarded in all walks of life, the rector of Thriplow said. The Rev Angela Melaniphy, who led the service, told the PA news agency that “it was Betty’s service”. She said:

She’d planned it, she’d chosen all the music. The entry music was Climb Ev’ry Mountain sung by Dame Patricia Routledge, who was a very close friend of Baroness Betty Boothroyd’s.

What was lovely about it was that her family was there, her very close friends were there, members of the village were there and members of parliament were there.

And so it was a service that included all of her life and each part of that reflected how highly she was regarded.

Melaniphy told the congregation that to villagers, Lady Boothroyd was “simply Betty”. She told PA:

She was a very popular resident. She was really a member of the village. She drank at the local pub, she shopped at the local shop. She actually was a neighbour, she used to visit housebound neighbours and chat to them.

In later years, she walked down her drive and sat on a bench outside her house and chatted to people who came past.

And, as I said in the service, that in the country she was known to many people as Baroness Boothroyd, in parliament she was madam speaker, but to us she was simply Betty.

During his statement Robert Jenrick confirmed that the government was considering using ‘“vessels” to house asylum seekers, but he said nothing to suggest that the use of a barge, or barges, for this purpose (see 9.22am) was a certainty.

The Conservative MP Richard Drax told Jenrick that the use of boats or barges would be “totally and utterly out of the question”. He explained:

Land-based reception camps in the right place has to be the solution. Does [he] agree with me that if you look at what’s happened in hotels so far with illegal migrants, we’ve had all kinds of issues with local residents, disappearing children, sexual assaults etc.

So would he agree with me that putting these people on boats or on barges where the problem’s going to be exacerbated ten-fold is totally and utterly out of the question.

Jenrick told Drax he did “see merit” in using boats or barges.

The Jenrick statement is now over. I have beefed up some of the earlier posts to include direct quotes, but you may need to refresh the page to get those to appear.

Labour’s Tahir Ali says this is just “headline-grabbing scaremongering”.

Jenrick says this is better than doing nothing, which is what Labour is proposing.

Jonathan Gullis (Con) says people in his constituency are outraged by the use of a hotel in Stoke-on-Trent by asylum seekers. He asks for confirmation that Stoke will be a priority area of young men being moved out of hotel accommodation.

Jenrick says he would like the hotel in Stoke by the station being used for asylum seekers to be closed for this purpose as soon as possible.

Back in the Commons, William Wragg opened his question to Robert Jenrick a few minutes ago by telling him that he was “one of the abler ministers in the Home Office” – which souned like a dig at Wragg’s boss, Suella Braverman.

Wragg then warned the government not to adopt a “Gerald Ratner approach” to this problem – just highlighting the problem. But what would be even worse would be a “something must be seen to be done” approach, he said. He suggested this had led to this “Rosie and Jim idea of barges all over the place”.

Jenrick said he agreed that a performative approach to this would be wrong. People wanted to see the government acting and taking difficult decisions, he said.

Edward Timpson (Con) asks if children will be moved into any of the sites named by Jenrick.

Jenrick says it is not his intention to house minors on these sites. They will be used by single adult males, he says.

Jenrick says it is peculiar that people on the left are happy for servicemen and women to be housed in barracks but not asylum seekers.

Priti Patel, the former home secretary, says she, too, is opposed to the use of an RAF base at Wethersfield. This is the site in James Cleverly’s constituency. Patel says, as another Essex MP, she also thinks that it is not suitable.

UPDATE: Patel said:

I am an Essex MP and I’m the other MP for Braintree District. Wethersfield is not in my constituency, [it] is in the constituency of the foreign secretary.

It is no difference, if I may say so, in terms of the rurality and the village size to a former site, not in Essex, which was Linton-on-Ouse, which was cancelled by the current government.

Can I ask why it is deemed appropriate for asylum seeker accommodation to be placed in a rural village in Essex with single men where there is no infrastructure, no amenities, but it was not appropriate for somewhere like Linton-on-Ouse?

In response, Jenrick said:

I can say that we don’t have a current plan to proceed with Linton-on-Ouse, but the sites that I’ve announced today are just the first set that we would like to take forward.

Because we want to remove people from hotels as quickly as possible and to move to this more rudimentary form of accommodation, which will reduce pull factors to the UK and defend the interests of the taxpayer.

Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s home affairs spokesperson, said the government seemed to be bringing back internment camps, which was “despicable”. She asked about the Bloomberg report saying using boats would cost even more than using hotels. (See 12.41pm.)

In his response, Jenrick did not address the cost point. But he accused the SNP of being “humanitarian nimbies”, claiming that Scotland was not housing its share of asylum seekers.

Sir Edward Leigh (Con) said the local council would fight the plan to use RAF Campton (the airfield used by the Dambusters) in his constituency. He attacked the plan strongly.

Jenrick acknowledged that Leigh was representing his constituency. He told him that the heritage buildings on the site would not be affected.

UPDATE: Leigh said:

Although the minister did not mention RAF Scampton by name, we assume that that is the base in Lincolnshire he is referring to.

I can inform him that the moment this is confirmed the local authority West Lindsey will issue an immediate judicial review and injunction against this thoroughly bad decision which is not based on good governance, but the politics of trying to do something.

And in response Jenrick said:

Whilst this policy is without question in the national interest, we understand the impact and the concern that there will be within local communities.

And all parts of government want to work closely with him, with his local authorities, to mitigate the issues that will arise as a result of this site.

I can say to him that there will be significant package of support for his constituents. There will be specific protections for the unique heritage on the site.

We don’t intend to make any use of the historic buildings, and indeed in our temporary use of the site to ensure that those heritage assets are in fact enhanced and preserved.

We do see this as a short-term arrangement, and we would like to enter into an agreement, as he knows, with West Lindsey District Council so that they can take possession of the site at a later date and their regeneration plans … can be realised in due course.

In his response to Cooper, Robert Jenrick said Labour “don’t have the faintest clue how to tackle this issue”. He accused Labour of being weak.

What we’ve laid out today is three months of intense work which is seeing the backlog coming down.

The Labour party are too weak to take the kind of tough decisions that we are taking today. And in their weakness they would make the United Kingdom a magnet, there would be open doors, an open cheque book, and there would be open season for abuse.

David Linden (SNP) says Rishi Sunak is on record as saying he has no working-class friends. [It was a video when he was a student.] Where might he meet some?

Raab says the government has been doing a lot for working people.

Wendy Morton (Con) asks whether people in her constituency will benefit from the pilot of the antisocial behaviour action plan policies. She says they are worried the Labour police and crime commissioner will direct the money somewhere else.

Raab says it is for PCCs to decide where the money goes, but Morton will make her submissions in her usual, forceful way, he says.

Stephanie Peacock (Lab) asks about a hospital in her constituency providing palliative care.

Raab says he is happy to look at this if Peacock writes to him.

Chris Bryant asks about Paul O’Grady/Lily Savage, who campaigned against oppression of every kind. Isn’t it time we celebrate our drag queens who inspire us to be a better nation?

Raab agrees. He says O’Grady’s comedy broke barriers. And he says he showed why it is necessary to avoid the constraints of “wokery” on comedy.

Caroline Nokes (Con) says victims of revenge porn have to prove that the offender intended to cause distress. Will the government tighten the law?

Raab praises Nokes for her campaigning on this. He says the online safety bill is being changed to toughen the law on this. The government will consider further changes, he says.

Sarah Olney (Lib Dem) says there are 800 fewer GPs than in 2019. What does Raab say to patients affected?

Raab says access to general practice is improving, and the number of GPs in training is at record levels.

Douglas Chapman (SNP) says the recent BBC drama about the Brink’s-Mat robbery reminded us that only half the Brink’s-Mat gold was recovered. But with Covid fraud, only 1% of the money has been recovered.

Raab says fraud is getting more complex but funding to deal with it has increased.

Cat Smith (Lab) asks what the government is doing to protect Royal Mail.

Raab says the pandemic created problems for the company. He will ensure Smith gets a meeting with a minister.

James Grundy (Con) says his constituents want Leigh to break away from Wigan council. He says this is the year to give the town its independence and “get Lexit done”.

Raab says Grundy can meet the local government minister to discuss this.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, asks about the increase in the terrorism threat level for Northern Ireland. Will the government provide the police with the resources they need to counter this threat?

Raab says it is disappointing that the threat level has gone up. But violence has been going down since its peak in 2009-10.

Mhairi Black, the SNP deputy leader at Westminster, says video footage has emerged of Tory MPs offering their services for money. Matt Hancock asked for £10,000 a day. What will Raab’s daily rate be when he is booted out of office?

Raab claims the Tories have tightened up the lobbying rules.

Black says, as Raab’s colleagues “eye up barrels of cash from fake companies”, it is the people of this country who are led by donkeys. She says Hancock is asking for £1,500 an hour, but nurses get £15 an hour. Who offers better value for money?

Raab says he is glad most health workers have accepted a pay settlement.

Rayner says Raab is refusing to apologise. He has no sense of shame. Raab is spending all his time trying to save his job, not doing his job. The PM has given the levelling up secretary responsibility for antisocial behaviour. She says this may be Raab’s last PMQs. “Will he walk before he’s pushed?”

Raab says Rayner always comes with “the usual bluster of political opportunism”. Labour tried to block the small boats bill. The Tories deliver; Labour plays politics, he says.

Rayner again asks Raab to apologise for his failure to deal with the court backlog.

Raab says Rayner has ignored the impact of the pandemic, or the strike by defence lawyers. Funding for victim support has quadrupled since the Tories came to power, he says. If Labour were serious about this, they would not have voted against longer sentences, he says.

Rayner asks that the government is doing to protect women and girls.

Raab says rape convicitions are increasing.

Rayner says anti-social behaviour is not just running out of control in Raab’s department. It is across the country. The Tories have lost control of crime. Why are there 6,000 fewer neighbourhood police officers on the street?

Raab says Labour voted against the government’s police plan. He says crime levels are lower than under Labour, and violent crime has halved.

Angela Rayner, the deputy Labour leader, pays her own tribute to Boothroyd. And she pays tribute to Paul O’Grady too, saying he was a national treasure and a “true northern star”.

She says it has only taken 13 years for the government to launch an antisocial behaviour policy.

Raab knows all about the culture of fear that can be caused by thugs who create a climate of fear. Will he be brought to justice?

Raab says he can assure MPs he has never called anyone scum.

If Rayner were serious about dealing with antisocial behaviour, she would back the plan, he says.

Dominic Raab starts by saying all MPs will want to pay tribute to Lady Boothroyd.

Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question at PMQs.

Turning away from the Treasury committee for a moment, the Liberal Democrats have launched their local election campaign with a stunt that echoes and parodies a Boris Johnson photocall from the 2019. The Lib Dems are signalling their intention to knock down the Tory “blue wall”. Henry Riley from LBC has the clip.

It is very Lib Dem. When Johnson drove through a wall labelled “gridlock” with a “Get Brexit Done” JCB, he insisted on driving himself. In this version, Ed Davey is in the passenger seat and someone else is at at the wheel. Health and safety perhaps.

It is a big improvement on the last Lib Dem photocall of this kind, which did not quite convey the impression intended because of Davey’s diminutive orange mallet.

There are no urgent questions in the Commons today, which means the Robert Jenrick statement on accommodation for asylum seekers will start at around 12.30pm.

Anthony Browne (Con) ask Hunt why he did not just create a doctors-only scheme to remove the cap on tax-free pensions savings.

Hunt says a doctors-only scheme would have been regressive, because the scheme that the government did announce would not help the wealthiest 20% of doctors.

He says a doctors-only scheme would not have been a lot cheaper.

And he says he wanted to remove barriers to work for people in their 50s generally.

Douglas Chapman (SNP) asks Jeremy Hunt if HS2 has “hit the buffers”. He suggests the money should be spent elsewhere.

Hunt says he does not agree. Countries like Germany or Japan have less regional inequality because people can travel around the country much more easily. In Japan you can get on a bullet train and get to Tokyo within three hours.

Chapman says he does not expect a bullet train to arrive in Scotland any time soon.

Back at the Treasury committee Andrea Leadsom (Con) asks why post-pandemic economic inactivity is higher in the UK than in other G7 countries.

Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, says that is a good question. A lot of people over the age of 50 have given up work, he says. For some people, like doctors, pension rules are a factor. He says he has addressed this.

Q: That does not answer the question. Why is the situation worse in the UK?

Hunt says the UK is about “middle of the pack” for OECD countries.

Q: Are people being more honest about their health? Or has health got worse?

Hunt says the government has some of the answers to this, but not all of them.

The number of long-term sick has grown. There are 2.5 million people who are long-term sick or disabled. He says the DWP white paper is addressing this.

Yesterday, when Rishi Sunak was giving evidence to the Commons liaison committee, there was a cryptic question from Labour’s Catherine McKinnell, who wanted to know if he had anything to declare in relation to the government’s childminder recruitment bonus scheme. People who sign up as a childminder will get a £600 bonus, but £1,2000 if they sign up through an agency.

Sunak said all his interests were declared. And he defended the anomaly, saying agency recruitment costs were higher.

In a report for the i, Richard Vaughan and Paul Waugh explain what prompted the question; Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, has shares in a childcare agency that could benefit, they report. They say:

According to Companies House, Ms Murty was listed as a shareholder in Koru Kids as recently as 6 March 2023 and has been since March 2021 …

Agencies such as Koru Kids can expect to see a major increase in business as a result of the pilot, as it will drive prospective childminders to sign up via agencies.

No 10 told the i that it would not comment on Murty’s business arrangements because she was a private individual, and that Sunak had declared all relevant interests.

Q: How many couples will lose access to child benefits because of your stealth taxes on the higher rate tax threshold?

Hunt says he will have to write to the committee with the anwer.

But he says the childcare plans will make a big difference to many people.

Back in the Commons Treasury committee, Labour’s Angela Eagle asks if £10,000 a day is a good rate for a former chancellor. She is referring to Kwasi Kwarteng.

Jeremy Hunt says he does not know. He says he hopes to be chancellor for a long time.

Hunt tells the Treasury committee that he believes in NHS reform. It was not possible to pursue that during the pandemic, he says. But he says in the autumn statement he asked Patricia Hewitt, the former Labour health secretary, to carry out a review. She is looking, in particular, at whether the NHS has too many targets, he says.

Danny Kruger (Con) goes next. He asks if the government has had a consistent growth strategy over the past few years.

Hunt says, with the exception of the mini-budget, there has been consistency.

Baldwin asks about the Office for Tax Simplification. Kwasi Kwarteng abolished this when he was chancellor. Baldwin asks why Hunt has not reversed that. Is that because the tax system does not need simplification?

No, says Hunt. He says he still wants to simplify the system.

He will take that as a personal responsibility, instead of having a body in charge of it.

He says he will be asking his officials to simplify measures before budgets; he just does not think a special body is needed.

Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s new first minister, has posted a picture on Twitter of his family praying after breaking their Ramadan fast in Bute House, the first minister’s official residence, last night.

Severin Carrell has written an article setting out the challenges facing Yousaf in his new job.